August 12th, 2405 — Durand Family Estate — Musutafu, Japan
Flipping through the pages of her book, Sage's eyes traced down the last page, the Russian lexicon easily translated by months of practice. As she closed the book on the final page, a familiar ding rang through her head.
[ Side Quest — Master of Languages
Goal: Become proficient in ten different languages. 10/10
Reward: 50xp, Skill — Omnilingual ]
Looking at the reward, a smile spread across her face as the new power engraved itself into her soul with a warm current. Grabbing her phone, Sage googled "top five dead languages," the ancient dialects now as readable as her native tongue.
"Yes! This is going to be so useful," she exclaimed to the empty room, her tail swishing with excitement. "As Cypher would say, 'Everything is language.' This will improve my combat ability, my mathematical ability, and so much more."
Jumping out of bed, a cloud of steam enveloped her. Standing now in his male form, Sage took a moment to adjust his balance to the taller frame.
'It's been almost a year and a half since I awakened my memories,' he thought as he dressed. 'Today's quest marks the completion of my tenth quest.'
He reflected on the past eighteen months while buttoning his uniform jacket, the crisp fabric sliding smoothly between his fingers. He'd made considerable progress understanding how his system worked, alongside significant headway in his studies.
Casually using analysis on himself, a panel appeared in his vision:
[ Sage Durand
Title: Amateur Swordsman
Level: 12 (30/140xp)
Stats: Body: F+ (D+),
Mind: E+ (D-),
Soul: E+ (D-)
Skills:
Body — Smooth Moves, Fast Twitch, Hardened Bones, Flexibility
Mind — Enhanced Intellect, Advanced Computations, Sword Talent (C)
Soul — Analysis, Omnilingual, Glide, Quick Swap,
Quirks: Restoration, Enhanced Mobility ]
Swiping the panel to the side, he mentally catalogued everything he'd learned about the system.
'The XP component increases my limits, making it easier to grow stronger. The ranking seems to follow that F is average human, E is peak trained human without quirk assistance, D enters superhuman level, and so on. I haven't seen anyone above C rank yet, so I can't judge the power level of anything beyond that, for now Mum is my only point of reference.'
Moving down the stairs, he adjusted his perfectly pressed school uniform—an annoying reminder of his parents' insistence on proper education. The staircase creaked slightly under his weight, the sound echoing in the quiet morning air.
When they first brought up attending school, Sage had adamantly refused, insisting he could learn faster through self-study. But Inari had been uncompromising, and so Sage had reluctantly begun formal schooling.
Reaching the kitchen, Sage absentmindedly greeted his mother while preparing breakfast. The scent of fresh coffee and toast filled the air as he moved efficiently around the space. Ever since starting school, he had lost valuable time he would have preferred to use elsewhere, though he had leveraged the opportunity to advance his studies in other ways.
Mentally pulling up his latest study quest, he checked his progress:
[Side Quest — The Pursuit of Knowledge Part 3
Goal: Spend 1540/3000 hours studying general knowledge.
Reward: 400xp, Skill — Eidetic Memory]
'Halfway there,' he thought, spreading jam across his toast. 'I should finish the quest by the end of the year.'
Finishing his breakfast, Sage waved goodbye to his mother and began walking toward school. Once alone on the path lined with cherry trees, he focused intently on his destination. Space began to warp around him—first a slight distortion in his peripheral vision, then a growing sensation of stretching as he slipped into the higher dimension.
Over the past year, he had dedicated considerable effort to practicing his quirks. His diligent training had allowed him to roughly control his destinations, though it still required intense concentration.
The familiar sensation of weightlessness washed over him as he walked through the mind breaking dimension, he'd found that it was best to mentally shut out everything but his goal, he'd gotten lost a few times because he focused on his surroundings.
Additionally, he had worked with his father to tether HLN-A to him, the little robot now serving as his personal assistant. It had grown tedious tracking him down each time he accidentally teleported away—usually without his phone.
As the dimensional shift completed, Sage emerged two blocks from the prestigious Aichi Prefecture Academy for Exceptional Students. The air shifted from the clean scent of the mountain path to the urban mixture of exhaust and freshly cut grass. He paused to straighten his uniform, brushing imaginary dust from the dark blue blazer emblazoned with the school's gold crest.
'This teleportation practice is paying off,' he thought, satisfied with his accuracy. 'I'm getting closer to my target destinations each time.'
The past year had been filled with relentless training regimens beyond just his quirks. Every morning before school, he practiced combat forms from various martial arts traditions.
Evenings were devoted to quirk control exercises, and weekends split between physical conditioning and intensive study sessions. The results showed in his improved stats, having moved up from a measly F- all the way up to F+ at the lowest and E+ at the highest.
He walked the remaining distance to school, observing the other students arriving in luxury vehicles with drivers and security details. Aichi Prefecture Academy catered exclusively to the children of Japan's elite—business magnates, politicians, and those with exceptionally powerful quirks. The Durand family fit several of these categories.
As Sage approached the ornate iron gates, a chorus of greetings met him.
"Good morning, Durand!" called a boy with silver hair as he stepped from a black limousine.
"Sage! Did you finish the economics assignment?" asked a girl with butterfly wings, her textbooks hovering beside her.
"Is your father's company really acquiring Sato Industries?" probed another student, his eyes glinting with calculated interest.
The same questions, the same false smiles. Sage returned their greetings with practiced politeness, maintaining the carefully crafted persona he'd developed for school. None of these interactions held any substance—they were merely social currency exchanges among the privileged.
Entering the building, he stopped by the lockers to change his shoes, within he checked his spare clothes before locking it up. The hallway buzzed with morning conversations and the metallic clang of locker doors.
Turning, he began walking to class as a burst of steam engulfed him. Sighing, Sage—now in her female form—snapped her fingers within the steam, which instantly caused her outfit to swap with the one in the locker.
'Quick swap sure is a useful skill,' she thought, adjusting her skirt. 'I'm glad I spent the time learning close-up magic to acquire it.'
The skill she had used—Quick Swap—was her reward for learning close-up magic. By masterfully manipulating objects, she could fool the untrained eye easily with just skill alone.
The skill itself allowed her to swap the position of any two objects, but to activate it she first had to meet a few requirements. The first being nobody could see her hands when she used it, the second being she had to know exactly where and what she was swapping, and the final requirement was she had to touch at least one of the objects.
Combing her tail within her hands, she made her way down the long crowded corridors, weaving through the clumsy pre-teens with ease. Her sensitive ears picked up fragments of conversations, gossip about weekend plans and upcoming exams flowing around her like water.
Eventually she arrived outside her classroom door with a few minutes to spare. Standing by the door, a faint glimmer caught her eye from further down the hall, dancing against the polished wall like a lost star.
Checking her watch, she figured she had enough time and began moving towards it. Reaching the end of the hallway, it continued around a ninety-degree corner into a less used part of the school.
Standing before the wall, Sage ignored the hallway, her gaze transfixed on the multi-coloured light projected on the wall. Suddenly, the light rapidly dashed off to the side down the hallway at high speed.
Her pupils dilated as her tail began to swish back and forth, ears perking up in alert attention. Dashing after the light, she rounded corners and descended stairs as the light continued just out of her reach, the sound of her footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.
By the time she gained on it, the light stopped on a door. Dashing forward, Sage cupped it in her hands, feeling nothing but warmth against her palms. Slowly she opened her hands to find the little light floating peacefully before fading away.
Smiling widely, Sage took a moment to look around, finally realizing she was lost. Turning, she looked up at the little robot that floated silently behind her, its metal body gleaming under the dim lights.
"Where are we, Hela?" she asked, her voice breaking the hollow silence.
Humming, the little robot looked down at her, a map appearing in place of her face, glowing with blue light.
"We are currently on sub-level two of the east school building," Hela reported in her digitized voice. "According to a recent announcement by the principal, this building is currently under renovation."
Nodding, Sage memorized the map. Raising her leg, she was about to step when she heard a muffled sob. Stopping mid-motion, she lowered her leg silently as her ears perked up. Leaning against the door, she heard multiple faint sounds.
Behind the door she heard angry grunts, scuffing and muffled sobs. Her face hardened as she picked up two loose pipes off the ground, instantly using Quick Swap to exchange one for her blade in her nondominant hand and a tiny thin piece of string she clutched in the other.
As she did, a faint ping rang in her head as a panel appeared in the edge of her vision.
[*New* Side Quest — Investigate the Noise
Goal: You got distracted and wandered into a restricted area. As you were about to leave, you heard the sound of a faint sob. Investigate the noise.
Reward: 150xp, ???, ???]
Looking up at the robot, she gestured to be quiet before pointing at the door. Understanding the assignment, the little robot centred herself in front of the door and scanned the infrared spectrum, her lights dimming to avoid detection.
Turning, Hela's screen changed to show two distorted figures: the smaller one standing motionless while the other taller one moved around in front of them.
Breathing deeply, Sage mentally simulated a few possibilities, her mind-based skills assisting the complex calculations.
Settling on a plan, she stood by the door, tensing her muscles. Then, in a blur of movement, her leg kicked out in a perfect roundhouse kick, her muscles enhanced greatly by her skill 'Fast Twitch' that allowed them to contract and release faster.
Instantly the lock broke as the door went flying in on its hinges, slamming into the wall with a splintering crack. Sage paid it no mind as she dashed in, closing the distance at incredible speed, using analysis as she ran.
Inside the room, Miss Umbritch, the English teacher, stood over a motionless student roughly Sage's age. Startled, the teacher turned as fast as possible for her overweight body, briefly catching sight of a dark blur before something hit her in the throat.
Stumbling back, she clutched at her throat while gasping for air, her face reddening with shock and rage.
Sage didn't slow. Quickly glancing at the analysis, the woman's quirk stood out above anything else.
[Quirk — Singular Control
After selecting a single target, the user can verbally issue any command. The target is forced to comply with the command no matter what; if the command is spoken, they will succumb.]
Her face darkening, Sage dashed forward and punched the overweight woman directly in the solar plexus, knocking the wind from her lungs with a satisfying thud.
Wheezing, the woman continued to stumble backward, tripping over a loose cord. She tumbled back into a shelf, sending boxes and supplies cascading down. As the objects tumbled down around her, they temporarily shielded her from Sage's volley, creating a barrier of falling debris.
Desperate not to lose her advantage, Sage scrambled over the fallen shelf, hesitant to give the woman even a second to think. Closing in for another hit, Sage's eyes widened when she saw the woman's gaze land on her, her mouth moving slightly as a faint sound echoed through the clatter of falling objects.
"Freeze."
Instantly Sage's body locked up, her muscles seizing mid-motion as she tumbled forward like a wooden mannequin. The command gripped her like invisible chains, rendering her helpless.
Falling forward, her face impacted the floor with a heavy thud. Still, she didn't move as her body defied her control. The cool concrete against her cheek was the only sensation she could focus on.
Internally she began to panic as the woman used the few seconds to get a full breath of air. But before she could issue another command, Hela flew in, her arm crackling with electricity as she prepared to taser the woman, the air filling with the scent of ozone.
Eyes bulging out of her fat face, the woman spoke again, two words leaving her mouth with terrible clarity.
"Kill it."
Instantly Sage's body moved, snapping to attention as she leaped from the ground at full speed. Dodging, Hela continued to move forward, but still under the woman's control, Sage had no command of her body, her limbs moving with trained precision.
Spinning in mid-air, her feet impacted the wall, her knees bending as her muscles tensed. Launching off the wall, she rocketed towards the little robot from behind, her blade in hand as her eyes dilated to pin pricks, focused entirely on her unwilling target.
Dodging again, Hela was forced to move back slightly as Sage landed between her and the vile woman. Instantly, Sage kicked the downed shelf, launching a box of nails into the air. Snatching a handful from the air, she dropped into a spin, friction disappearing beneath her feet as she activated Glide.
Using her momentum, she launched the nails like pellets from a shotgun, the metal projectiles whistling through the air. Left with nowhere to dodge, Hela opted to tank the relatively weak nails, her metal body being more than strong enough.
As the nails approached, Sage slipped her hand behind her back. Suddenly one of the nails—the closest to Hela—disappeared. In its place, Sage's black rose dagger appeared, holding the same speed but with greater mass and sharper point.
Left with no room to dodge, the dagger impaled through one of the tiny cracks around the edge of Hela's robotic body. Sparks immediately began to fly along the length of the blade as the robot fell from the air like a fly under a swat, the scent of burning metal filling the room.
As she fell, Hela realized her systems were majorly malfunctioning. In a desperate bid, she launched one of her arms at top speed.
Flying like a bullet, the arm curved around Sage and headed for the woman behind her. Reacting faster than expected, the woman spoke again, her voice raspy but still commanding.
"Protect me!"
Halting mid-motion, Sage's legs jarred sharply as she instantly reversed her direction. Accelerating at high speed, her legs ached but she reached the woman before Hela's arm.
Changing the string in her hand for her other dagger, she stabbed it straight through the vulnerable crack in the projectile, leaving it to fall uselessly to the ground after bouncing off her with a hard thud.
Having completed the task, Sage froze centimetres from the woman. Breaking into slow, unsettling laughs, the woman's hand flew out as she punched Sage across the jaw, the impact sending a wave of pain through her face.
"Haha, you fucking mutt," the woman sneered, her breath hot and rancid against Sage's face. "You thought you could stop me? Now you're going to be my little pet for as long as I like."
Looking at her, the woman's eyes held a disgusting glint as her face flushed like a pig in heat. Stepping forward, she approached where Sage lay frozen on the floor, her steps slow as she heaved in apparent exhaustion, concrete trembling under her weight.
Internally, Sage's mind boiled in rage and fear as she tried desperately to move. Suddenly, as random as always, steam enveloped her body in a thick cloud.
Watching from less than a step away, a look of confusion slowly spread across the woman's face in slow motion.
"Wha—" Crack!
Emerging from the steam in a burst of speed, Sage—now in his male form—instantly punched the woman. His hand swung up in an uppercut, fist catching her jaw with a sickening crunch as it slammed shut on her tongue.
Falling to the ground, the woman's tongue squirmed for a few seconds before falling still. The woman herself slowly tilted backwards as her eyes rolled back in her head, and she fell unconscious.
Hitting the ground, the woman's sheer mass caused the remaining shelves to shake slightly, dust particles dancing in the air around her prone form.
Exhaling sharply, Sage dashed over to the fallen robot, tearing the blade from where it impaled her. The sparks quickly died down as he cradled the damaged device.
Rebooting slowly, HLN-A's movements were jerky and glitchy, her main engine flickering on and off. Grabbing the little robot from the air, Sage cradled her to his chest as the rushed sound of footsteps approached the room, echoing down the hallway like an approaching storm.
{A/N: I need a bit of feed back, I've got a few options for displaying the skills and abilities.
1. I can use the name and slowly tell the readers its effect through the Mc's actions.
2. I can try and fit in something like a system panel that details the skills effect everytime I use a new skill.
3. I can make an axuilary chapter with all skills, quests, stats, etc.
4. A combination of the above.}